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The EPG (UPC) holds meeting of the management committee

On February 22 and 23, the Unified Patent Court (EPC/UPC) held its inaugural Administrative and Budget Committee meetings. Delegates from contracting member states attended the hybrid event in Luxembourg at the seat of the Court of Appeal and Chancery, with the EPO participating as an observer. The inaugural meetings follow the UPC Protocol on Provisional Application, which enters into force and establishes the UPC as an international organization.

During the meeting, the Administrative Committee adopted several secondary rules and regulations that will be critical to the functioning of the UPC. These included its Rules of Procedure, the Rules on the Certificate for European Patent Litigation, the Service Regulations for the UPC Judges and their Administrative Staff, and the Financial Regulations. The Budget Committee, on the other hand, adopted the budget for the period of provisional application of the UPC Agreement. The States Parties also elected Alexander Ramsay (SE), the current Chair of the Preparatory Committee, as Chair of the Administrative Committee and Johannes Karcher (DE) as Vice-Chair, and Bruno Leboullenger (FR) as Chair and Theis Bødker Jensen ( DK) as Vice-Chair of the Budget Committee.

The new chairs and several delegations recognized the historic significance of these inaugural meetings and affirmed that the UPC project has now entered its final preparatory phase.

Following the events, EPO President António Campinos expressed optimism: "The EPO warmly welcomes this step towards delivering the Unitary Patent Package. The unitary patent and the UPC will be the most important reforms of the European patent system since the signing of the European Patent Convention."

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